melissaga

You will love Star Class! At least, we did. Have done the equivalent on NCL with a suite in the Haven and this experience surpassed that one!

We did leave some tips at the specialty restaurants. The only charge we had at the end was for the unlimited class package at the gym for 2 of us. No charge for anything anywhere. We didn't buy anything in the gift shops nor did we buy the candy and such at the Patisserie (where they serve Starbucks).

They will pretty much bring you anything you want via room service. If it's not on the menu, they will take care of it. We ordered breakfast from the TV menu one day, the called and asked more questions and ended up making us what we wanted (vs what was on the menu).

We never bothered with the main dining rooms. There didn't seem to be a point to it.

Yes, there is a doorbell. :) Everyone used it.

You have more than just the Genie. There is a team of 2 to clean the room twice a day, 2 who deliver your snacks, and a bar tender who comes by every afternoon for mixed drinks. Plus you have access to the suite lounge for snacks and drinks. And all the water and soda that they leave in your room (plus a bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine).

The first night, my very healthy fitness oriented daughter could not find a piece of fruit on board. She mentioned that to our Genie and we ended up with a big bowl of fresh fruit in the room that was replenished at least once a day.

I don't recall if there were any special discounts in the shops. You will receive gifts from your Genie at the end of the cruise. We also received gifts for our anniversary and had various celebrations for our anniversary at specialty restaurants that were planned by the Genie.

The Genie is amazing. He or she will make sure everything goes smoothly from getting off and on board, to getting seating quickly at a restaurant, seating at the shows, etc.

The one thing I missed a little was the Haven. However, we cruised on what is now one of the smaller Havens. I don't recall the ship off hand, but there were only something like 24 suites in the Haven. That said, having a genie on RCL MORE than made up for that. The Solarium and the private suite sun deck took the place of the Haven pool and sundeck area for us. Now that we've experienced RCCL's Star Class, I don't think we'll be trying anything else for a long time. It really did feel like a ship within a ship, without the actual enclosed space, if that makes sense. When I read reviews of others' experienced on the very same cruise, I felt like we were on a completely different cruise!

Interesting to hear about boarding the Anthem. We will be Star Class and hope to board as early as possible. I did not see anyone say there was a line for suite guests or do we just have to stand in line?

We've been home from the Anthem for 2 full weeks now. :( Sailing Star Class was pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread. I feel like we can't cruise again until we can swing a longer cruise in a Star Class suite again!

You will go to the suite check in kiosk. We were given instructions where to meet a porter on arrival outside, but there wasn't anyone there when we got there (there had been some delay in getting disembarkation of the previous cruise). They brought a porter over to us who took our luggage from there. Your genie will come meet you and take you through security. If you are there early enough, you might need to wait in the suite area for a bit after that as we did (but I do think things were running late and we choose the earliest possible check in time). As soon as the ship was cleared for embarkation, we were escorted on by our genie. From there, he gave us a brief tour, ending at our room. Our luggage was already there.

Also, you are given your SeaPass card then. Other guests apparently get them when they arrive at their rooms now.

So true.

We had a visit from the upgrade fairy just before our cruise last month and ended up in Star Class. We will take less cruises going forward because don't ever want to cruise without a genie again!

They are part butler, part concierge, part personal assistant. They just make everything magical. Cruising on the Anthem with a genie was like cruising on a much smaller ship. We had all the advantages of a large ship but without ever really feeling the crowds. No need to get to the theater early to get a good seat. It is reserved and your favorite drink will there waiting for you. No waiting for a table. No need to go wait in line at a buffet ever. Made sure we had reservations for everything and we could have done anything again if we chose to. He would have made that happen (such as our private ride on Northstar)

Genies are a combination concierge, butler and personal assistant. Had one on Anthem of the Seas recently and now it will be longer before I can cruise again. Not sure I want to ever cruise without one. Had all the advantages on being on a large ship with none of the disadvantages and an amazing suite to boot (we had a loft style suite).

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Formal night was the second night, no matter where you eat.

Our family dressed for formal night, though just a suit for dh. We dressed for dinner every night but never ate in the main dining room.

Just off the Anthem Star Class. We did our Escape Room with other families our Genie was taking care of, which made it so we had enough people. We actually missed our first scheduled session as we couldn't find the room (interactive ship map sent us to the wrong floor).

You cut all lines on disembarkation. Your genie experience continues until the very end!

The worst thing about Star Class is that once you do it, you can't go back. I will take less cruises in order to do this again!

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